Dry cleaning detergent

ABSTRACT

Dry-cleaning compositions containing a combination of an amine oxide and a phosphate ester of a nonionic surfactant are shown to give optimum results with respect to the removal of all types of soils and particularly the removal of water-soluble soils from the articles being dry-cleaned. Other components may optionally be added to obtain certain specific results.

United States Patent Dasch 1451 June 20, 1972 [54] DRY CLEANING DETERGENT [72] Inventor: Lawrence Dasch, Painesville, Ohio [73] Assignee: Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio [22] Filed: Nov. 4, 1968 [21 Appl. No.: 773,354

3,290,145 H1967 Findlan et ill. 252/106 3.351790 l H1967 Sugarman ct al. 252/17] 3,366,632 2/l9o8 Wakemun ..260/584 3,378,496 4/l 968 Mangeney et al ..252/l53 X 3,482,928 l2/l969 Knieriem ..8/l 37 3,499,930 3/1970 Wakeman ..260/584 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 437,566 10/1935 Great Britain 745,195 2/1956 Great Britain 847,017 9/1960 Great Britain 908,643 10/ l 962 Great Britain OTHER PUBLICATIONS Gafac, Phosphate Ester Surfactants as Dry-Cleaning Detergents, GAF Publication, 1963, pp. 1, 2, 8

Primary ExaminerLeon D. Rosdol Assistant Examiner-P. E. Willis Att0rneyC. Thomas Cross, Roy Davis, Timothy E. Tinkler, Dick M. Warburton, John J. Freer, Sam E. Laub, Neal T. Levin, Leslie G. Nunn, Jr., Helen P. Brush and John Tieman [5 7] ABSTRACT Dry-cleaning compositions containing a combination of an amine oxide and a phosphate ester of a nonionic surfactant are shown to give optimum results with respect to the removal of all types of soils and particularly the removal of water-soluble soils from the articles being dry-cleaned. Other components may optionally be added to obtain certain specific results.

1 Claim, No Drawings Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the use of various solvents, notably perchloroetbylene, trichloroethylene and Stoddard solvent, for the dry cleaning of synthetic and natural fiber materials on both a professional (retail outlet) and industrial (rental garments) level. However, while a number of advances have been made, certain problems still exist. Foremost among these problems is the inability of the organic solvents to remove water-soluble soils.

Basically, the types of soils-present on any article to be cleanedfall into three categories, i.e., watersoluble, solventsoluble and insoluble. Obviously the removal of solvent soluble soils present little difficulty and in fact is one of the'chief advantages of the use of dry cleaning, as opposed to wet" cleaning, processes. Likewise the removal of insoluble soils presents no greater problem in dry cleaning than in wet cleaning operations since the method of removal of these soils is basically mechanical. The chief problem with dry cleaning systems therefore has been in the removal of water-soluble soils from the articles to be cleaned. That these water-soluble soils cannot be effectively removed by the solvents used in dry cleaning is obvious. It is also basic knowledge that it is not possible to incorporate sufficient water into a dry cleaning solvent to effectively remove water-soluble soils, in the absence of an agent capable of emulsifying said water. Fortunately, however, the quantity of water-soluble soils generally present in articles processed in professional dry cleaning shops is so small that large quantities of water need not be used. Were large quantities of water-soluble soils present, copious amounts of water would effect the removal thereof, however the dimensional characteristics of the articles could be altered. The problem of removing a variety'of soils has been particularly perplexing in industrial dry cleaning operations since, owing to the types of industries usually served, very large amounts of each type of soil must be removed from the items being cleaned. This is especially the case relative to watersoluble soils, a large proportion of which is represented by perspiratory stains. Because of the presence of these watersoluble soils and because the types of fabrics generally encountered will permit, it it has heretofore been the practice for industrial cleaners to use a wet cleaning process; particularly because dry cleaningsystems were not effective in removing the water-soluble soils. Since it has been proven by studies, however, that dry cleaning systems are not only easier and more efficient to operate but are also responsible for an increase in the useful life of the articles cleaned, it is obvious that the need exists for a dry cleaning system that will 'overcome the aforesaid disadvantages.

It is known that a quantity of water-soluble soil may be removed during a dry cleaning operation provided that a suitable dry cleaning detergent is incorporated in the system to couple with, or emulsify, the added water. In this manner the detergent allows the incorporation of a limited quantity of water into the dry cleaning system without any adverse effect upon the equipment used or the results obtained. The quantity of water which may be incorporated is essentially dependent upon the nature of the detergent used in the dry cleaning system. Obviously, the larger the amount of water which may be incorporated safely, the greater the ability of the dry cleaning system to remove water-soluble soils will be. Heretofore, systems have been developed which contain detergents which allow the incorporation of sufficient quantities of water to allow the removal of small quantities of water-soluble soils and have seen use in professional dry cleaning shops. It has not been possible however, to develop a dry cleaning detergent which will allow the incorporation of sufiicient quantities of water to remove the large quantities of water-soluble soils found in the items typically cleaned by an industrial dry cleaner. Therefore, these operations have had to rely, exclusively or supplementally, upon wet cleaning methods.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a dry cleaning detergent which will allow the removal of substantial quantities of water-soluble soils from articles being dry cleaned.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a detergent formulation for use in a dry cleaning operation which comprises an optimum combination of ingredients for the removal of all types of soils, even when present in large quantities.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and claims which follow.

.15 It has now been found that a dry cleaning detergent having improved properties, especially with regard to its ability to remove water-soluble soils, may be formulated using a tertiary amine oxide. Through the use of tertiary amine oxides and especially through their use in combination with other synthetic detergent materials, notably phosphate esters of nonionic surfactants, a detergentformulation is obtained which exhibits a remarkable ability to remove solvent-soluble and insoluble soils, as well as water-soluble soils. These dry cleaning detergent formulations will have particular use in the field of industrial dry cleaning.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The tertiary amine oxides useful in the practice of the present invention correspond to the formula,

dimethylamine oxide, lauryl dimethylamine oxide and the like.

Especially preferred at the present time is dimethyl hex adecylamine oxide.

According to a preferred embodiment of the instant invention, the detergent formulation includes, in addition to the tertiary amine oxide, an organic phosphate ester. More specifically, these compounds are the free acid or neutral salt forms of phosphate esters of nonionic surfactants and are more fully described in US. Pat. Nos. 3,004,056; 3,004,057; 3,033,889; 3,1 l7,l52; 3,162,604, and 3,352,790. Exemplary of such compounds are the free acid phosphate esters of polyethoxylated alkyl phenols, such as polyethoxylated nonylphenol, and polyoxyethylenated aliphatic alcohols, such as polyoxyethylenated tridecyl alcohol. These compounds are also useful as neutral salts, e.g., magnesium or sodium salts, of the foregoing compounds. Specifically, U.S. 3,352,790 describes phosphate esters of nonionic surface active agents having the molecular configuration of a condensation product of 1. an organic compound containing a reactive hydrogen atom'selected from the group consisting of R-OH, R- SH, RCOOl-I, R-NH,

and R-SO NH compounds, wherein R is a hydrocarbon radical of from eight to 60 carbon atoms, and

2. at least one mole of any alkylene oxide containing two to four carbon atoms and up to about 75-95 weight percent of total combined .alkylene oxide, the upper limit of 75 percent for ethylene oxide, an 85 percent upper limit for propylene oxide and the 95 percent upper limit for butylene oxide.

It is also disclosed there that the phosphate esters may be used as free acids or neutralized with sodium, potassium,barium, magnesium or amine compounds.

Such a combination of a tertiary amine oxide and a phosphate ester results in a dry cleaning detergent exhibiting superior properties when used in the solvent cleaning of textiles of natural and synthetic fibers. More specifically these detergents show an excellent ability to dissolve and remove solvent-soluble soils and prevent the redeposition of these soils. In the removal of insoluble soils these detergents also excel, minimizing the redeposition problem usually encountered when the solvent-soluble film encasing the insoluble soils is dissolved. Furthermore, and quite significantly, the detergents excel in removing and preventing the redeposition of watersoluble soils such as salts, sugars and protein. Most likely the ability of the detergents to promote the removal of water-soluble soils may be attributed to the fact that they allow the incorporation and retention by the dry cleaning solvent of larger quantities of water, which. water assists in the removal of water-soluble soils. According to the present invention it has been found possible to incorporate from 0.25 to 15.0 percent by volume of water into the solvent-detergent system.

While variations in the formulations may occur depending upon the application, it may generally be said that the detergent formulations of the instant invention comprise from 5.0 20.0 percent, by weight, tertiary amine oxide together with from 80.0 to 95.0 percent of phosphateester. Ideally, for ease of application the detergent will be provided in the form of a solvent solution, i.e., 50 percent perchloroethylene together with 50 percent detergent. An optimum detergent formulation of the present invention contains percent, by weight, tertiary amine oxide, 40 percent of a phosphate ester and 50 percent perchloroethylene. For most dry cleaning applications from 0.1 to 2.0 percent, by volume, ofsuch a formulation will be added to the dry cleaning solvent. While larger quantities may be used, such use is for the most part uneconomic.

On the basis of the above, preferred dry cleaning systems according to the present invention comprise: from 83.0 to 99.65 percent by volume, of dry cleaning solvent; from 0.1 to 2.0 percent, by volume, of detergent; and from 0.25 to 15.0 percent, by volume, ofwater.

It is thought to be rather surprising that the tertiary amine oxides of the present invention exhibit the detergent properties noted in the following examples since it had heretofore been thought that cationic materials, to which class thetertiary amine oxides belong, had littlevalue as detergents for textile materials. Where cationic surfactants had previously been used, it was generally in the area of fabric softening or to impart antistatic properties to the material being treated. According to the instant invention however, this particular class of cationic surfactants, i.e., the tertiary amine oxides, are in fact superior detergents for use in dry cleaning systems, particularly with regard to their ability to remove water-soluble soils. In addition to the tertiary amine oxide and phosphate ester components, the detergent systems of the present invention may also include such well known ingredients as emulsifiers, generally nonionic surfactants such as cocoanut alkanolamides; zipper and textile lubricants, such as mineral oils; optical brighteners; antiredeposition agents and other ingredients familiar to those skilled in the art.

ln general it is desirable that detergent formulations such as those of the present invention be in the form of neutral or substantially neutral liquids in order to prevent corrosion of metals in contact with the dry cleaning system. Since the phosphate esters used are often acidic in nature, it is usually necessary to add an alkaline material to increase the pH of the systems and for this purpose sodium and potassium hydroxides or certain amines, such as isopropylamine, may be used. Experience has shown that potassium hydroxide is the preferred compound for efiecting this neutralization since it results in a product which gives results superior to the sodium hydroxide neutralized product.

The primary application of the detergent formulations of the instant invention will be, as is mentioned above, in the area of industrial dry cleaning. Generally speaking these industrial dry cleaning operations differ from professional dry cleaning shops in that the quantities of soils which must be removed per pound offabric cleaned are much greater. For example it has been noted that as much as 50 pounds of soil may be removed from pounds of dirty clothing in an industrial dry cleaning operation whereas a professional dry cleaner will generally not be called upon to remove more than one or two pounds of soil per 100 pounds of clothing. Because of the difference between these two extremes of dry cleaning operations it will be recognized that the process for using the detergent fonnulations of the instant invention will vary from situation to situation. Therefore, while a simple one bath system containing solvent, detergent and water may be used by a professional dry cleaner, an industrial dry cleaning operation will generally require at least a two bath system.

A significant advantage to the use of the formulations of the present invention in industrial dry cleaning operations is that filtration of the dirty solvent has not been found to be necessary when using the formulations of the present invention in the prescribed manner. In most commercially practiced industrial dry cleaning operations the soiled articles are first agitated with a quantity of the dry cleaning solvent system being used followed by removal of the solvent and a second treatment with the dry cleaning solvent system. In the second treatment it is generally the practice to constantly filter a portion of the solvent in order to remove grossly held soil particles and prevent their redeposition onto the articles being cleaned. This filtration operation is expensive and cumbersome. For instance, there is an added solvent requirement, since the filtration operation removes solvent to a separate container, added expense, since the filtration operation requires extra equipment, and the added inconvenience and expense of periodically replacing the filter media. Using the detergent formulationsofthe present invention, filtration has not been found necessary.

Optimum results may be obtained by first contacting the articles to be cleaned with a dry cleaning solvent-detergentwater system. This cleaning system is then removed and dropped to a still for recovery of clean solvent while the articles which have been treated in the first bath are again contacted with a dry cleaning system, this time comprising the dry cleaning solvent and detergent alone. Water is not used in the second system since the presence of the dry solvent will cause the water absorbed by the articles in the first cleaning bath to be desorbed, thereby loosening the water-soluble soils held in this manner. The second'dry cleaning system is likewise extracted from the material, after completion of the cleaning operation, and is recycled for use, together with added water, as the first bath detergent-solvent-water system in the cleaning of a subsequent batch of soiled articles. The remaining quantities of solvent held by the articles are removed by drying and, finally, the articles are generally deodorized, that is ambient air is passed therethrough in order to remove the last traces of solvent and thus freshen the articles.

In order that those skilled in the art may more readily understand the instant invention and certain preferred embodiments by which it may be carried into effect, the following specific examples are afforded.

EXAMPLE 1 The following example is for the purpose of comparing the ability of various detergents, anionic, nonionic and cationic, to function as dry cleaning detergents and particularly to evaluate their ability to remove water-soluble soils and retain moisture in a dry cleaning solvent without sacrificing ability to remove solvent-soluble and insoluble soils.

ln this and subsequent examples, the solvent-soluble soil is represented by used crank-case oil cut (1:1, by weight) with toluene. Insoluble soils are represented by carbon soils and water-soluble soils are represented by sodium chloride applied to the cloth swatches from an aqueous solution. The cloth used for evaluation unless otherwise indicated is a 65 percent polyester/35 percent cotton material with a permanent press finish.

In the first example, 100 milliliters of perchloroethylene is used to treat 12.3 grams of fabric; giving a liquid to fabric ratio of 132:] which corresponds closely to the common industrial ratio of l2.5:l. The cleaning process comprises treating the soiled fabrics, and unsoiled fabric swatches used to evaluate redeposition, in a jar containing l5 steel balls and 100 milliliters of perchloroethylene by rotating at 42 revolutions per minute for 3 minutes. Following this the solvent is removed and a second 100 milliliter batch of perchloroethylene containing 0.75 percent water and 0.75 percent of the detergent (both percents by volume) shown in Table l is used to treat the fabric as above for 7 minutes. The test swatches are then squeezed and dried at 140 F. for about l0 minutes. The percentof solvent-soluble, insoluble and redeposited soils is determined by taking reflectance readings on a Hunter multipurpose reflectometer comparing the cleaned swatches with soiled and unsoiled standard swatches. The amount of sodium chloride removed is determined by chemical analysis of the cleaned swatches. These results appear below in Table I.

Table I also includes results of the water retention test. This test is made to determine the amount of water retained by the solvent-detergent-water system after a cleaning cycle. The. theory is that if water is removed from the system by absorption into the fabric being cleaned, soils will also be redeposited and therefore the detergent capable of retaining the largest quantity of waterin the system will result in the best cleaning operation. Furthermore, since the quantity of water present in the system has a direct bearing on the amount of water-soluble soils removed, it is desirable that the detergent retain a large quantity of water. This test is conducted by placing a number of swatches, conditioned at 65 percent relative humidity overnight, into an 8 ounce bottle together with 100 milliliters of perchloroethylene and 0.75 percent by volume each of the detergent and water. Five stainless steel balls are added then the jar is closed and rotated at 100 rpm. for 7 minutes at room temperature. At this time a quantity of solvent is removed and the amount of water retained therein is deten'nined by the Karl Fischer method, correcting for a blank also determined. These results appear in Table I.

It may readily be seen from Table I that the detergents capable of removing the largest quantity of water-soluble soils are the tertiary amine oxides, notably dimethyl hexadecylamine oxide. Furthermore and importantly they do so with little sacrifice in the ability to remove solvent-soluble and insoluble soils. Thus, while certain of the nonionic detergents exhibit a moderate ability to remove water-soluble soils, they do so at a sacrifice in overall cleaning properties and while the anionic detergents, mostly phosphate esters, excel in the removal of solvent-soluble soils, they are quite poor in their ability to remove water-soluble soils. Likewise, with regard to the ability of the detergent to hold water in the system rather than to allow it to be absorbed by the fabrics being cleaned therein, the tertiary amine oxides again excel without sacrifice in other important cleaning properties. From the above table it is evident that the tertiary amine oxides are of significant value as dry cleaning detergents, especially for industrial purposes.

EXAMPLE 2 This example shows a comparison of certain of the more readily available commercial dry cleaning detergent formulations with a dry cleaning formulation of the present invention with regard to their relative abilities to remove soils of the type commonly encountered in industrial dry cleaning applications on both an equal volume and an equal cost basis. The detergent formulation of this invention comprises 5 l .6 percent by weight of Gafac RM-7l0 (trademark of General Aniline & Film for a free acid form of a complex organic phosphate ester), 6.5 percent of dimethyl hexadecylamine oxide, 6.5 percent of a fatty acid alkylolamide, l2.9 percent of mineral oil, 19.3 percent perchloroethylene and 3.2 percent of a mixture of 99.8 percent water and 0.2 percent of an optical brightener. ln this'example the test fabrics and soils are as in Example 1 with the exception that the percent sodium chloride removed is on a net rather than a total basis. This is determined by using two swatches, one stained with sodium chloride, the other clean, and subsequently chemically determining the amount of salt on both. This results in answers indicating both the percent sodium chloride removed from the stained swatch and the amount of sodium chloride deposited on the clean swatch, the difierence equaling the net amount removed. ln this example the swatches are cleaned for 4 minutes in 43 milliliters of perchloroethylene containing 1.05 milliliters of water and the indicated quantity of detergent formulation, extracted and treated for additional formulation, 3 minutes in 43 milliliters of perchloroethylene and the indicated quantity of detergent formulation. This gives a liquid to fabric ratio of 5.5:] in each bath. Finally the swatches are dried and evaluated as before.

TABLE I Percent solvent 7 Percent Percent soluble insoluble soils Percent Percent soils soils redepos N 9.01 water Perchloroethylene plus- Class removed removed lted removed retained Ethoxylated alkylolamide N 70. 8 14. 1 14. 4 Alkylphenoxypoly(ethylencoxy) ethanoL. 72. 2 16. 4 13.5 Fatty alkylolamide 76. 7 19. 8 19. 9 Coconut alkanolamide 77. 3 14. 8 16. 7 Bis(2-hydroxyethyl)octadeoylamine oxide 80. 5 29. 3 14. 0 Dimethyl hexadecylamine oxide 80.8 26. 2 17.0 Organic phosphate ester 82. 1 26. 6 15. 1 DimethyKhydrogenated tallow) amino oxide 82. 9 27. 2 15. 9 Sulfated Oil 83. 7 33.8 19. 2 l )ialkyl dimethyl quaternary ammonium chloride. 84. 4 20. 7 14. 1 Organic phosphate estcr, free acid 85. 4 28. 7 14. 3 lhosphatccster of cthoxylatcd nonylphcnol, free acid 85. 8 81. (i 14. 0 Phosphate ester of ethoxylatcd aliphatic alcohol, free acid 86. 8 35. 0 17. 0 Organic phosphate ester A 87. 8 39.4 11.8 Organic phosphate ester, sodium salt. 89. 2 39. 8 12. 1 Organic phosphate ester, free acid 89. 6 33. 2 15. 3 Organic phosphate ester A 92. 6 39. 1 9. 6

* These fabrics have no permanent press finish.

TABLE II Percent solvent Percent Percent soluble insoluble Percent NaCl Perchloroetliylcnc plus detergent soils soils soils removed f r ulation Basis (volume 111 ml.) removed removed redeposited (net) Prascntinventiou Equal cost (1114).... 86. s 29. 2 s. 3 13. 6 Equal volume (0.14) 86. 8 29. J 3. 3 18. (i

Table II Continued C 1A" Equa1cost(0.42).. 50.5 17.6 1 ,7 ommema Equal volume (0.14) 54. 4 16. 9 17. 1 6. 9

(,mnmercial]i" Equalcost(0.22) 52.4 15.7 16.7 11.4

Equal Volume (0.14) 51. 13.7 20. 4 9. 6

(,nmnmrcial "on"... Equalcost (0.21) 58. 9 17.1 14.8 11. 5 Equal volume (0.14) 54. 7 16. 9 18. 6 16.7

(,ommurcial "1)". Equal cost (0.15) 56. 5 19.7 19.3 9.6 Equal volume (0.14) 56. 6 17. s 14. 7 9. 5

(,nnmmrniztl "1'1""... Equaluos (0.22). 58.5 20.5 12.8 11.2 Equal volume (0.14) 59. 8 .14. 7 16. 9 11. 0

These fabrics have no permanent press finish.

From Table II it may be readily seen that the detergent for- TABLE Ill mulation of the present invention is far superior in all respects to any of the commercial dry cleaning formulations evaluated on both an equal cost and an equal volume basis. Solvent solrble Insoluble Soils NaCl' Detergent 801 soils redeposremoved EXAMPLE 3 type water removed removed ited (net) This example shows the results obtalned using a comblna- I KC 93.5 38.6 7.4 240 tion of only a ternary amme oxide and a phosphate ester ac- KOH 9Z1 3Q! 45 43A cording to the practice of the present invention. All tests and KOH 7.5 92.9 34.2 5.0 51.6 methods of operation are as in Example 2 with the exception 25 :28: 35-3 that 0.28 milliliters of the detergent formulation is used in M10" each instance (50 percent active). In the first instance the detergent formulation comprises 40 percent by weight of phosphate ester, 10 percent by weight of dimethyl hex- I adecylamine oxide and 50 percent perchloroethylene. Test These fabms have no permanempress fimsh results using this formulation show 91.2 percent solvent-solu- It may readily be Seen that the use of potassium hydroxide ble 5on5 refnovali. msoluble Sons f to neutralize the detergent formulations of the present inven- Percem P and Percen? net f 'f tion is to be preferred to the use of sodium hydroxide. chloride removal, Using a detergent formulation containing while the invention has been described with reference to 30 P y weight Phosphate ester 20 P by weight certain specific embodiments thereof, it is not to be so limited amine Oxide and 50 P Perchbmethflem the since certain changes and alterations may be made therein results Obtamed are 1 and 183, e p y which are within the full and intended scope of the appended claims.

EXAMPLE 4 40 lclaim:

This example illustrates that if it is desired to use a neutral- A dry'cleanmg composmon conslstmg essenuany of:

. a. from 83.0 to 99.65 percent by volume of a solvent ized product, for example in order to prevent corrosion of selected from the group consisting of Stoddard solvent, metals in contact with the system, better results W1 be obh h l d m h I d if the s stem is neutralized with potassium hydroxide pew oroet y am an me oroet y tame y b. from 0.1 to 2.0 percent by volume of a detergent consistthan Wllh sodium hydroxide. The detergent formulation is that g essentially of set forth in Example 2 above. To 100 grams ofthis detergent L from 80 95 percent by weight of the free acid form or formulation is added 3 grams of percent sodium hydroxide the Sodium, potassium barium magnesium or amine and to a second batch of 100 grams is added an equivalent Salt of an anionic phosphate ester of the condensation quantity, 3.7 grams, of 57 percent potassium hydroxide. The 50 product of an alkyl phenol and ethylene oxide, Said tests run and the methods of evaluating same are identical to ethylene oxide being present in an amoum of at least those in Example 2 above. The cleaning procedure as folone mole and up to about 75 percent by weight of the lows: The first bath (4 minutes) contains 64 milliliters of total condensation product perchloroethylene and 0.21 milliliters of the detergent formuf 5o 20 percent by weight of an amine oxide lation together with the quantity of water indicated In Table ele ted from the group consisting of dimethyl hex- III. The second bath (3 minutes) contains 64 milliliters of perchloroethylene and 0.21 milliliters of the detergent formu: lation. A third bath is also used, for 3 containing 64 milliliters of perchloroethylene and small amounts of sizing and odor control ingredients which have no effect upon the results obtained. The liquid to fabric ratio used is 8.47:] and the results obtained are set forth hereinbelow.

adecylamine oxide and dimethyl stearylamine oxide, said amine oxide being present in an amount sufficient to increase the ability of the composition to retain .water and remove water soluble soils without sacrificing other properties of said composition and c. from 0.25 to 15.0 percent by volume of water. 

2. from 5-20 percent by weight of an amine oxide selected from the group consisting of dimethyl hexadecylamine oxide and dimethyl stearylamine oxide, said amine oxide being present in an amount sufficient to increase the ability of the composition to retain water and remove water soluble soils without sacrificing other properties of said composition and c. from 0.25 to 15.0 percent by volume of water. 